


Never On Your Own

by threeturn



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music Video, Back to You (Music Video), Bedroom Floor (Music Video), Dusk Till Dawn (Music Video), Gen, Magical Realism, OT5, Sign of the Times (Music Video), Too Much to Ask (Music Video)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-08 02:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12854982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threeturn/pseuds/threeturn
Summary: "I was like, ooh parallel universe, and then I was like, oh no, we have to set things right." One Direction, lost and found.





	Never On Your Own

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ferryboatpeak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferryboatpeak/gifts).



> This story is for the lovely and generous [ferryboatpeak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferryboatpeak) for Fandom Loves Puerto Rico ♥ 
> 
> Big thanks to [disarm_d](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disarm_d) for beta and to [countthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/countthestars) for consultation. 
> 
> Title is from One Direction's "Don't Forget Where You Belong."

We can meet again somewhere

Somewhere far away from here

-"Sign of the Times" (Harry Styles, 2017)

 

**1\. Back to You**

Louis was sitting by the café window listening to his friends give him bad advice.

"No one actually needs a seatbelt," said Lily.

"Whatever you do, don't floss," said Jack.

Pleased by their own good judgment, they bumped shoulders and waited for Louis to agree. Outside in the alleyway where the kids were playing footy, Louis saw something odd fly by.

Louis put down his teacup. "Did you two see that?"

"I see you moping for no reason," said Jack.

"No, at the window." Louis peered out again. "These high heel boots, like, swooping by."

"Someone throwing shoes about," said Lily wisely. "World's gone mad."

"There was a person in the shoes," said Louis. "There he goes again!"

A dark blue coat swirled past the window, blocking the sunlight for a moment.

"Hallowe'en's over, mate!" Jack called.

But the window was empty again. All Louis could see in the alleyway were his small footy friends. He sipped his tea for strength. "What if we just went outside to see?"

"There you go looking for trouble again, Lou." Lily readjusted her snapback over her long hair. "Face it, lad, nothing exciting's ever happened to you and nothing ever will."

There was a bump at the windowpane, and a hand appeared. Louis put his face to the glass and looked up. The hand flattened against the window by Louis's face. Louis, confused, felt his cheeks go warm. He could see now that the hand was attached to a man, and the man was dangling upside down.

"Maybe someone's trapped on the roof," said Lily.

The hand scrabbled for the window frame and then a worried face appeared sideways at the window. He appeared to be saying something with great urgency and, since Louis couldn't hear him through the glass, little success.

"You know this bloke, Lou?" asked Jack.

The bloke in question had an average face and too much hair. He seemed to have been trying to grow a moustache, with mixed success.

"Never met him before in my life," said Louis, who felt unaccountably pleased to see him anyway.

"Looks as if he's trying to tell you something," observed Lily. "Maybe it's help, help!"

The man lost his grip on the window frame for a moment. Louis saw flailing legs and heard a crash before the man's head bobbed in front of the window again, entirely right side up at last. He grinned triumphantly as if he'd executed a difficult maneuver with grace and skill, then drew back from the window far enough for Louis to see he was floating a few inches off the ground. He beckoned to Louis with one hand.

"That," said Jack, "is a vampire."

"Don't go with him, Louis," said Lily. "He'll suck your blood and your youth and your life and you'll never be free."

"Half a mo," Louis mouthed to the flying man. He downed the rest of his tea in one gulp before leaving Lily and Jack at the table alone.

 

**2\. Too Much to Ask**

Niall was on the underground bravely enduring his solitude as a couple canoodled a few seats away. They were a typical couple: glowing, happy, the girl way out of her boyfriend's league. He could hear them whispering endearments to each other.

"You're number one," the girl was telling her boyfriend.

Niall wrenched his gaze away. Had anyone ever called him number one? Before he could remember, he saw a shadow moving in the dark outside the train. The figure he could see only dimly had his arms upraised like a movie zombie or maybe Mick Jagger. Niall shuddered as his carriage rocketed past.

By the time he got to the pub, Martin, Alfie, Declan, Oscar, and Sean had already ordered a round.

"Niall!" Declan called. "What's the craic?"

"Niall's got his sadness hat on again," Alfie observed.

"Height of fashion, me," said Niall. He took his newsboy cap off and fluffed up his hair.

"Be alone forever if you keep wearing that thing," said Sean, who was wearing a wide-brimmed white hat that should have been burnt.

"You don't realise it but girls go mad for me," said Niall. He was taking the piss, but if he was being honest, part of him felt it ought to be true. That in another life, it probably _was_ true.

"In your dreams, mate," said Martin, and everyone laughed.

Niall made certain to step on Martin's foot as he settled in a seat near the frosted glass of the pub window. He took the pint Oscar pushed over to him and listened to the lads discuss football, Rita Ora, Brexit, and the Irish border. He managed to enjoy himself until a shadow crossed the window. Then he remembered the shadow on the underground and his chest went tight. "Need a bit of air," he muttered, and got to his feet.

"Want company?" Sean asked.

"No, just—" Niall shook his head. "Back soon."

He went through the pub and up the stairs to the roof, into the blue dusk of the evening sky. Niall looked out over the noisy, crowded city. Now he could breathe but he felt cold and alone. It was almost a relief when a dark figure stepped out of the air and onto the roof.  
  
"Niall, thank goodness," said the mysterious stranger, who appeared to be dressed for a bracing tramp through sheep country. "Tracked you down at last." He held out his arms like they were going to hug.  
  
Niall took a step back. "That's a bit creepy, isn't it? I don't even know you."  
  
"Yes," the man agreed, dropping his arms mournfully. "I thought you might say that." 

 

**3\. Bedroom Floor**

Liam was sitting in bed alone staring at the discarded clothes on his bedroom floor. It was a very nice bedroom, but he was still upset.

The phone rang. Against his better judgment, Liam picked up. "About what happened…" said a familiar voice.

Liam said nothing.

"All right, one thing led to another…but like, let's not overthink it, you know? We had fun. But it's over, right? It's over."

"You left your _clothes_ on my _floor_ ," Liam pointed out.

"Yeah, I just pulled something fresh from your closet to wear instead. You don't mind, do you? Maybe I'll swing by to pick up my stuff next week. See you around, babe."

Liam glared at the phone and ended the call. Then he opened up Google and typed WHYYY R MEN RUBBISH. There were over five million results, so Liam decided to find out the answer later. First he needed to bundle all Jasper's clothes together, take them downstairs, and burn them.

He was about to strike the match when he realized he didn't want to damage his posh open-plan kitchen with smoke and ashes. So instead he was sitting by the pool tossing in Jasper's clothes piece by piece when the bloke floated down from the sky. He seemed likely to land in the pool and cause a tremendous splash—Liam was quite excited to jump in and save him—but when his heels hit the water he just sort of skidded.

"Whoa! Hahaha!" the flying man said. He took a few quick steps over the surface of the water.

Liam froze. Here he was witness to a miracle, and he hadn't been to church in ages. He tried to remember a prayer. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…" he began.

"Oh, are we getting married?" asked the man.

"What? No!" Too late, Liam realized that he probably oughtn't refuse the Second Coming. "I mean, I'm just getting out of something toxic, it's nothing personal—"

"Calm down, Liam," said the bloke, reaching the edge of the pool and tripping on it. "Just joking."

"How do you know my name?" asked Liam. Automatically he put out a hand to steady the man as he stepped onto dry land. "Did God tell you? Or was it Jasper?"

"Oh, I'm no angel. I'm just Harry!" Harry laughed as if he'd made a hilarious joke.

"Right," said Liam, who could feel a headache coming on. "And you can fly because—"

"It's complicated," said Harry. "We're sort of trapped in a, in a _thing_. Dunno how to explain it. I'm trying to set things right, though. Come with me, will you?"

"If I come with you," said Liam, "have I got to dress like you?

"Absolutely not," said Harry. "Bring as many gold chains as you like."

**4\. Dusk Till Dawn**

Zayn was speeding down the motorway in his getaway car when something plunged from the sky and landed, large and clumsy, in the back of his car. On any other day, Zayn would have found this stressful, but already today he'd outwitted corrupt cops, evaded rival gangsters, booby-trapped a house, and bleached his hair. Zayn peered into his mirror to examine this latest inconvenience and decided the stranger in the back seat was unexciting by comparison.

"Get off my briefcase, please," said Zayn.

The stranger rolled hastily off the briefcase and arranged himself into a more recognizably human sitting position. "We gotta get away from here," he advised Zayn.

"I'm aware," said Zayn. "And you are?"

"Harry," said the stranger. "Sorry to drop in on you like this."

"I'm used to it," said Zayn. "Let me guess, your crew is watching me and my name is mud on the streets."

"Your name is Zayn, actually." Harry was clambering into the front seat next to him. Zayn kept his eyes on the road.

"How do you know?"

"Wow, that's a long story. I mean basically we're best friends—"

"Really."

"Friend friends, " Harry amended. "I mean, we definitely know each other—"

"You don't know me."

"All right, Zayn," said Harry. "Have it your way."

They drove in silence for a moment. Zayn thought about the loaded gun in the glove box, and whether it was time to reach for it in one graceful motion.

"So what's in the briefcase?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," said Zayn. "Everything. My secrets. My interiority. My most private self. Everything I insist on protecting that this terrible world wants to strip from me."

"Oh dear," said Harry. "I was afraid of that."

Zayn shot him a look from the corner of his eye. "Suppose you were hoping it was money. Or jewels. Something glamorous."

"I wanted…" Harry trailed off. "Look, this isn't your real life. On some level you know that, right? You can feel it."

"Maybe," said Zayn. For a prat and a nuisance, Harry was oddly insightful. "I've always thought there's some other life where I'm not hunted like this. Maybe like…a farm."

"Yes!" said Harry. "That's it exactly."

"I'd just milk cows or whatever. I'd make friends with a horse."

"Zayn," said Harry. "That _is_ your real life. You're not actually a gangster, you're—"

"A farmer?" Zayn was so thrilled he didn't even tell Harry to stop inappropriately patting his thigh. "Like I have my own place where no one bothers me? I just spend all day with my animal friends and everyone leaves me alone?"

"I mean," said Harry. "Let's not go overboard."

 

**5\. Sign of the Times**

Harry didn't quite understand why his mum's bungalow existed in every universe but he'd successfully managed to fly each of the boys there, one by one. They were sprawled out on the rug around the cold fireplace when Harry and Zayn arrived. Niall was strumming a guitar. Louis was loudly accusing Liam of cheating at arm-wrestling.

"You've remembered each other!" said Harry. "I knew you would."

"Remembered what?" said Louis. "I could tell immediately that this one couldn't be trusted."

Niall turned a shining face to Harry. "Did you know there was a guitar here? I learnt to play it in a single afternoon. Listen to this!" Niall played a few bars of Wonderwall, expertly.

Harry sighed and shrugged off his heavy coat. "Zayn, this is Niall. I've been telling him he already knows how to play guitar, but he can't even remember being a singer-songwriter."

"What bollocks," said Niall. "Next you'll be telling me I've played Croke Park."

Harry suddenly felt very tired. Probably all the flying. He dropped into an easy chair, waving vaguely at the room in general. "And that's Louis and Liam. Lads, this is Zayn."

"And we're all supposed to know each other?" Zayn looked the lads over doubtfully.

"According to Harry, we're best mates," Liam told him.

"More or less," said Harry. He'd been feeling guilty every time Louis grinned at him, open and friendly. Every time Louis said something nice.

"What I don't understand," said Louis, "is why Curly here is the only one who remembers."

"I didn't at first," said Harry. "When I went flying past you, Louis, that's when it all came back to me. I was like, _ooh parallel universe,_ and then I was like, _oh no,_ _we have to set things right._ "

"Harry can fly," Liam explained to Zayn.

"Only in this universe," said Harry. "It's all part of the curse or whatever."

"Curse is right," said Niall **.** "I've had to watch public displays of affection on the tube, Liam's boyfriend is rubbish…what world have you been living in, Zayn?"

"Fast cars and crime, mostly," said Zayn.

"Oooh," said Liam, impressed.

"And Louis was…what was happening to you again?"

"Not much," said Louis. "Donny's all right. Though I suppose if I'm meant to be with you lot somewhere else—"

He looked expectantly at Harry, who tried not to wince. "We all ought to be where we belong," Harry said carefully.

"I like this bungalow," said Zayn. He sat down on the sofa and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "We could always stay here and farm the land, right? You said real life sucks."

"I did not! I said you were world-famous, that's all."

Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

Harry watched Louis hold out a hand for one of Zayn's cigarettes, watched Zayn light it for him with easy kindness. "Zayn, don't you remember Louis even a little bit?"

"No," said Zayn. "But he seems like the sort of bloke you could set off firecrackers in a bathtub with."

Liam said, "So now we're all together, what's the plan?"

"Um," said Harry. He hadn't really thought past the bungalow. He'd assumed that if he only brought them together again, they'd remember who they were, that their combined presence would trigger a return to normal. After all, being in the same space was what set this nightmare going in the first place: the five of them attending the Grammys separately but then ending up at the same afterparty by accident, bumping into each other by the open bar.

"Get a shot of this," someone had called. As the phones went up and the noise rose around them, Harry had prepared himself to be warmly affectionate, but then all of a sudden he was flying high over Scotland in a wool jumper and it turned out not to be necessary. Now he stared at the blackened logs in the fireplace and decided to stall for time. "Why don't we build a fire?"

"I tried while you were gone but it didn't work," said Liam. "I'll try again." He knelt by the fireplace and began fussing with the logs.

Louis curled deeper into the blanket he'd wrapped around him. "Zayn has a point. Why do we have to go back?"

"Because there's people missing you!" Harry thought of Mitch and Camille and Gemma and his mum and Grimmy and Jeff and the rest of his band and the entire cast of Dunkirk and tried to breathe through the stab of longing in his chest. "You and Liam have got babies—"

Liam dropped the fire tongs. "Beg pardon?"

"Baby?" Louis was beaming.

"Congratulations!" said Niall, his face pale. "I haven't got a baby, have I?"

"Absolutely not," said Harry reassuringly.

"Please tell me the baby isn't Jasper's," said Liam. "Please."

"There is no Jasper in the real world," said Harry.

Liam closed his eyes in relief. "I'm glad I found a good man then."

"Well—"

"Have I got a baby too?" Zayn cut in.

"Not that I know of," said Harry.

"Good," said Zayn, looking a bit disappointed. "I'm probably too busy with the livestock anyway."

"Wait," said Niall. "Zayn is a farmer?"

Zayn nodded proudly. "I'm told I have cows."

"Doesn't anyone want to know if _I_ have a baby?" Harry asked. "What if I had triplets and I gave each of them a tiny identical guitar?"

Louis patted him on the shoulder. "You can babysit mine if you like. Now, Liam, why are you taking your shirt off?"

"I don't want to get ashes on it," said Liam. "Also I'm taking a selfie of me building a fire with my abdominal muscles to send to Jasper before we leave."

"Give me the phone, I'll take the shot," said Niall.

"Try not to drool on it," said Louis.

Meanwhile, Zayn was looking wistful. "Harry, in the real world do I get to keep my briefcase?"

"The briefcase is in your heart," said Harry.

"I still don't know what the plan is," said Louis.

"I still don't know if I want this other life," said Zayn.

Liam said, "If it's got you four in it, it can't be that bad."

Niall said, "I don't remember any of you, but I think I was waiting for you anyway."

Louis put his hand on Harry's. "Are you crying?"

"Of course not," said Harry, blinking furiously.

Liam struck a match, and the fire flared strongly at last.

"Let's do a fireplace selfie," said Niall. "Before we go."

"Go where?" asked Zayn, but everyone was already crowding together in front of the fire.

Niall held up Liam's phone. "Closer," he ordered.

They got closer. They got so close Harry wasn't sure where he ended and anyone else began. His vision blurred. Niall was holding the phone at a weird angle. Harry couldn't see the fire anymore. Somewhere far away he saw the five of them under party lights on Grammy night, dressed in their best for a different kind of camera.

"We look pretty good," said Harry shakily.

Niall took the shot.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr post is [here](https://valencing.tumblr.com/post/167987971387/never-on-your-own-1d-ot5).   
> P.S. [Zayn's farm is real](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/8022234/zayn-malik-interview-billboard-cover-story-2017).


End file.
